Man held over New York 'bomb plot'

Monday 21 November 2011 00:51 BST

A New York man has been arrested over an alleged plot to bomb various targets

An "al Qaida sympathiser" who plotted to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home has been arrested on numerous terrorism-related charges, the city's has said.

Michael Bloomberg announced at a news conference the Saturday arrest of 27-year-old Jose Pimentel, a US citizen originally from the Dominican Republic.

The mayor said Pimentel, of Manhatten, was "plotting to bomb police patrol cars and also postal facilities as well as targeted members of our armed services returning from abroad". But authorities have no evidence that Pimentel was working with anyone else, the mayor said. "He appears to be a total lone wolf."

Pimentel, also known as Muhammad Yusuf, was motivated by his resentment of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, fuelled by al-Qaida propaganda, the mayor said. "He was not part of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad."

However, Mr Bloomberg said Pimentel represents the type of threat FBI director Robert Mueller has warned about as US forces erode the ability of terrorists to carry out large scale attacks.

Pimentel is accused of having an explosive substance when he was arrested that he planned to use against others and property to terrorise the public. The charges accuse him of conspiracy going back at least a year, first-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, and soliciting support for a terrorist act.

He was to be arraigned later on Sunday.

"This is just another example of New York City because we are an iconic city ... this is a city that people would want to take away our freedoms gravitate to and focus on," Bloomberg said.

The New York Police Department's Intelligence Division was involved in the arrest. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Pimentel spent most of his years in Manhattan and lived about five years in Schenectady.

Mr Bloomberg said the suspect was motivated by terrorist propaganda and resentment of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.